


Definition of a Hug

by FawnoftheWoods



Series: Not Alone Anymore [13]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Bullying, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Past Torture, Team as Family, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-31 00:53:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13963830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FawnoftheWoods/pseuds/FawnoftheWoods
Summary: After the events with Vanko, Rhodey and Tony need some time to themselves.  They need to rebuild their friendship after decades of issues like Afghanistan and Obadiah Stane.  Tony has forgotten that Rhodey understands him better than anyone he’s ever met.  Rhodey knows what a hug truly is.





	Definition of a Hug

**Author's Note:**

> Again I post out of order :)
> 
> Also, special thanks to [ Dragonerd ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonerd/profile) for being my beta for the series!

Tony winced as he felt a weld spark at his finger.  Most of the time it didn’t hurt much, he’d gotten used to the random sparks.  What metal worker didn’t. Still, every now and then a bit of slag was larger and hotter than the rest.  

He was trying to distract himself.  It wasn’t working very well. Originally, he had been just doing some minor work to keep himself distracted.  He hated waiting for something. There was always so much to do that waiting was a pointless endeavor. But there were some things, some people, that he would wait for.  Rhodey was one of them.

He’d woken up at 4 am this morning, without a nightmare for once, and hadn’t been interested in sleeping since.  This was the first real break his sourpatch was taking since the Vanko event. He’d done what he could to smooth over the army on his side, but he knew that wasn’t the point for Rhodey.

Sure Rhodey was sour that he’d stuck his neck out for Tony and it hadn’t exactly worked.  The thing is, that wasn’t why Rhodey wouldn’t let him help much with the army problem.

Tony sighed and put down the metal kneecap before he made it worse.  DUM-E was already next to him and handing him a rag and a smoothie. Tony grinned at his oldest kid. “Thanks.  You know I can’t drink that, right?”

The downhearted beep pulled a smile out of him when very little could and now was no exception.   He remembered the first time the little spark of intelligence had shown itself in his apartment at MIT.  He’d feared he would lose Rhodey as a roommate that day.

-Flashback-

“Hey Tony, why on Earth is there a pile of green-ish bowls in our sink?  I was only gone two days!” Tony just hummed at him as he double-checked his blueprint again.  The little robot should be moving, what was he missing?

“Tony?  Our dishes are white, they should never be this color of green or brown.  We talked about this man.”

Maybe it was the power distribution protocols that were getting messed up.

“Hey, you got him on wheels, he’s kinda cute.  But seriously, when you plan on doing the dishes?”

Those circuits all check out.  Could it be in the programming?  Maybe the logic function was getting turned around.

“Are you even listening to me?”

Maybe the activation permissions are getting lost in the timing routines.

“Holy SHIT!  TONYYYYYYYY!!!!”

Tony jerked up to see his little robot who wouldn’t move chase his roommate across the room.  Rhodes had made it to the stairs, which were impassable for the wheeled robot, and was fending the claw off with what looked like a spatula.

“It worked?”

“Tony!  Call him off!  Down Boy! TONY!!!”

Tony leaped to his feet, “He moved!  Oh my god! Look Rhodey, he moved! He’s fucking moving!!!!”  Tony danced over, and hopped the stair railing to hug Rhodes.

Luckily the army cadet was strong, because Tony’s additional weight almost destabilized them on the stairs.  “Yeah, of course he can move! How the hell else would he have chased me? Tell him to quit moving and I’ll give him a treat!”

Tony turned to the bot with a smile and hugged him.  The bot didn’t move. Tony backed up and frowned at it.  Rhodes sighed and hopped the railing to head to the kitchen, but as soon as he was on the ground, the bot zoomed after him.  Tony frowned at his creation in confusion as Rhodes shrieked and dashed away from the robot. Tony pulled up the laptop, accessing the ongoing program remotely, and ignored the yells behind him as Rhodes played merry-go-round with the robot down the hall, through the kitchen, across the living room and back to the hall.  

Reading through the code as it displayed, he started cackling.  It had taken him a few minutes to understand exactly what he was looking at but when he did, he just rolled off the couch laughing.  Meanwhile, Rhodes was fending the robot off with a spatula in the kitchen when it grabbed the utensil. Immediately it puttered away from the confused army cadet and back to Tony to hand it to him with a chirp.

Tony was laughing too hard to take it for a few minutes before he got ahold of himself enough to tell the bot he didn’t need a moldy spatula.  The bot seemed to regard him a moment before taking off for the recovering cadet behind him. Rhodes yelped, but this time he hopped on the couch behind Tony.

“Why is it following me everywhere?”  Tony’s chuckles died instantly. He’d been so happy the bot worked and so amused about the bots behavior. It hadn’t occurred to him that he’d have to explain it to his roommate.

“S-sorry, I’ll tell him to stop.”  Rhodes looked at him as he typed a halt command on his computer.  When it didn’t seem to have any effect on the robot, he frowned and typed more commands in.  His typing got more and more frantic as he tried to explain to the robot that he couldn’t simply follow Rhodes everywhere, the man wouldn’t like it and he’d leave.  Then they’d never see him.

He was just attempting a command override when a brown hand grabbed his wrist.  “Hey, what’s going on Tony?”

Tony bit his lip as he stared at the computer screen.  “I’ll teach him to mind. I will.”

“Woah, are you saying he _chose_ to chase me around the room?”  Tony nodded miserably. “Why? Why does he dislike me so much?”  Tony looked up in alarm.

“He doesn’t dislike you!  He likes you! He likes you a lot!  He-” Tony cut himself off before he said something he couldn’t take back.  Rhodes was his only real friend at university. He didn’t want to scare the man away.

“He chased me until I handed him the spatula.”  Rhodes was looking at the robot while he thought.  He wasn’t stupid, his background in Electrical Engineering gave him a lot to work with when it came to robotics.  “Last week you chased me for that CD I had. You didn’t even need it, you just chased me for a hug. Don’t think I didn’t notice, kiddo.”

Tony ducked, “Most people don’t want a hug, so the CD seemed easier.”  

Rhodes sighed and slid into the seat next to Tony.  “If I give you a hug whenever you want, does that mean I can keep my CDs?”

Tony looked at him in amazement.  Rhodes was looking at the robot though.  “How about him? Was he after a hug, cuz he’s a bit big to engulf, if you know what I mean.”

Tony shook his head.  “He doesn’t have that many sensors.  Not certain he knows what he wants for affection yet.  He just wanted it, because he saw me.”

Rhodes smiled, “Well then, let’s teach him.”  Tony looked at him, speechless. “Yeah, you and me can teach your quirky little guy how to do stuff, what’s his name anyway?”

Tony felt his face flush, “I was drunk when I put that in.”

“Not unusual,”  Rhodes snorted, “So?”

“DUM-E”

“What?!?”

“Don’t Underestimate Machines - Enjoy”

“DUM-E?” The bot perked up and chirped at the man when hearing  the name. “Could be worse, Tones.”

“Tones?”

Rhodes snorted.  “You called me Rhodey.  If you get to smash our names together then so can I.  I steal your Y and you steal my S.”

“Wouldn’t that be Tons?”  Rhodey shoved him and the robot chirped happily at them.

“Nope, you’re Tones.”

-End Flashback-

Rhodey had been as good as his word.  Tony taught the little bot all about engineering and upgraded his system, but Rhodey taught him so much more.  Rhodey taught him to read moods, to play, to have a sense of humor. Rhodey taught him how to troll and prank. Most of all, Rhodey taught DUM-E how to care.  

Whenever Rhodey came over, he’d play with the bot.  DUM-E had been looking forward to this visit for days.  The two of them had commiserated over caring for Tony during those 15 years between his parent’s death and Iron Man.  He could still remember the conversation he had with Rhodey on the plane enroute to Afghanistan.

_Come on, sour patch. Don't be mad._

_I told you, I'm not mad.  I'm indifferent, okay?_

_I said I was sorry._

_You don't need to apologize to me.  I'm your man. I'm just indifferent right now.  You don't respect yourself, so I know you don't respect me._

_I respect you._

_I'm just your babysitter.  So, when you need your diaper changed, let me know and I'll get you a bottle, okay?_

_-_

_You are constitutionally incapable of being responsible._

_-_

_When I get up in the morning and I'm putting on my uniform, you know what I recognize?  I see in that mirror that every person that's got this uniform on got my back!_

_Hey, you know what?  I'm not like you. I'm not cut out..._

_No, no. You don't have to be like me!  But you're more than what you are._

Rhodey had always known Tony was more than _Tony Stark: Merchant of Death_.  He’d stood by him all those years, waiting for that teen who liked hugs to return.  Tony was ashamed of how far he’d buried that kid. It had never been sexual between them.  It was so much more than that, and he’d practically spit it in Rhodey’s face.

_Okay, you, too._

_I don't blow on a man's dice._

Over and over again Rhodey had tried to reach that kid he’d lived with in college.  The one he had left when he finished his schooling so that they could go their separate routes,  Rhodes through Army Research and Tony through Stark Industries. By the time Stark was 21 and ready to take over, Rhodes was one of the top movers in Army Research.  That was when the soldier had reached out to him again, but he’d played it off. A solid business move. Because only Rhodey’s nickname kept ‘Tones’ alive anymore and no matter what Obie had whispered in his ear, Tony was grateful he’d never thrown away ‘Rhodey’.

But he had saved his life.

Tony could remember the irritation, the feeling of judgement and sympathy when Rhodey had come over to join him in the car after the demonstration.  He didn’t think he could handle the soldiers seeing him with Rhodey, relaxed and very much not the weapon’s manufacturer they saw him as, so he’d lashed out.

_I'm sorry, this is the fun-vee. The hum-drum-vee is back there._

_I just wanted to say  ‘Nice job’. See you back at base._

He hadn’t  wanted Rhodey to muss up his style in front of the soldiers.  He’d not wanted Rhodey at all. He had been the fantastical _Tony Stark_ so long he’d forgotten what he really wanted.  It had taken Yinsen to remind him of what he had always wanted.

_Do you have any family?_

_No._

_You are a man with everything and nothing._

He could remember what Rhodey said when he found him.  It was as clear to him as the words he’d heard when Rhodey had pulled him out of that drunk party when the jocks were about to strip him and leave him taped in the stadium.

_How was the “After Party”?  Next time, you party with me, m’kay?_

_How was the "fun-vee"?  Next time, you ride with me, okay?_

He’d just let Rhodey engulf him.  A hug. Webster defines a hug as an act of holding someone tightly in one's arms, typically to express affection.  Tony had looked it up when he’d had the chance back in school. Not that he hadn’t been hugged before. His mother and father, mostly for pictures, had placed an arm around him.  His father and Obie had done so usually to direct him somewhere. Jarvis and Martha had hugged him briefly on a few rare and very special occasions, but it was always out of view and very quick.  Those hugs all fit the definition Tony had found in the dictionary.

But Rhodey hugs didn’t fit.  Neither did his mother’s hugs, once Tony had met the woman.  Rhodey-hugs were beyond physics. A rupture in the universe, where for a moment all other parts of the universe existed outside a bubble and inside the bubble, miracles could be thought of as more than fantasy, less than reality.  In that bubble Tony wasn’t in charge of tens of thousands of people’s livelihoods and further hundreds of thousands of their deaths. In that hug, Tony was Tony.

It was more than a fantasy, but less than reality.  Not impossible and not fact, but that cozy inbetween.

Tony shook himself out of his thoughts and decided it was time to put in an appearance at lunch, because he wasn’t getting any more work done down here.  He just couldn’t concentrate.

Rhodey had called an hour ago to let Tony know that the Colonel’s leave today had been canceled.  

* * *

Tony found the whole team involved in the chaos that was a meal in the kitchen.  Clint was sitting on the fridge, out of the way of Natasha and Bruce, who looked very busy making some sort of manwich meat.  Steve was cutting fruit and talking with Thor, who looked more interested in the meat cooking so Steve was probably trying to distract him.  He liked how they kept drawing each other into what they were doing.

_Rhodey, I'm working on something big. I came to talk to you.  I want you to be a part of it._

_You're about to make a whole lot of people around here real happy, 'cause that little stunt at the press conference, that was a doozy._

_This is not for the military. I'm not… It's different._

_What? You're a humanitarian now or something?_

_I need you to listen to me._

_No.  What you need is time to get your mind right._

_I'm serious._

_Okay._

_It's nice seeing you, Tony._

_Thanks._

He was clearly worse at rebuilding friendships than Rhodey or his team.  He hadn’t been worried about losing Rhodey. They’d been through too much for that to happen, but he’d wanted his friend back.  He’d wanted those hugs back.

Of course, his ability to hold his tongue got him into trouble also.

_Tony?_

_Who is this?_

_It's Rhodes._

_Sorry, hello?_

_I said it's Rhodes._

_Speak up, please._

_What the hell is that noise?_

_I'm driving with the top down._

_Yeah, well I need your help right now._

_It's funny how that works, huh?_

_Yeah, speaking of funny, we got a weapons depot that was just blown up a few cliques from where you've been held captive._

_Well, that's a hot spot. Sounds like someone stepped in and did you job for you._

He never could watch himself when irritated.  Rhodey trying to blast him out of the sky didn’t help.

_Are you sure you don't have any tech in that area...I should know about?_

_Nope._

_Okay, good, cause I'm staring at one right now and it's about to be blown to kingdom come_

_-_

_Hello?_

_Hi, Rhodey, it's me._

_It's who?_

_I'm sorry, it IS me. You asked what that was, and it was me._

_No, see.. this isn't a game.  You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone.  You understand that?_

_It's not a piece of equipment.  I am in it. It's a suit. It's me!_

But this was Rhodey.  They’d been through a lot and laughed about it.  Nearly getting knocked out of the air was no different.

_Tony, you still there?_

_Hey, thanks._

_Oh, my God, you crazy son of a bitch.  You owe me a plane. You know that, right?_

_Yeah, well, technically, he hit me.  Now are you going to come by and see what I'm working on?_

_No, no, no, no, no, no, the less I know, the better.  Now, what am I supposed to tell the press?_

_Training exercise.  Isn't that the usual BS?_

-

_Oh, man. You can have your suit back._

_-_

_You have a big gun. You are not the big gun._

_Tony, don’t be jealous._

_No. It’s subtle all the bells and whistles._

_Yeah. It’s called being a badass._

_-_

_You should get lost._

_I was here first. Get a roof._

_I thought you were out of one-liners._

_That’s the last one._

_You kicked ass back there, by the way._

_Thank you. You too. Listen, my car got taken out in the explosion, so I’m gonna have to hang on to your suit for a minute, okay?_

_Not okay. Not okay with that._

_It wasn’t a question._

No, they would recover from the bruising their friendship had taken.  The problem was, Tony didn’t simply want a friend, he wanted his Rhodey-Bear.  He had learned that he didn’t have him anymore when he figured out he was dying.  The brother he’d had in college would have pestered him until he told and he would have let the colonel.  Rhodey did try.

_Tony, you gotta get upstairs and get on top of this situation right now. Listen. I’ve been on the phone with the National Guard all day, trying to talk them out of rolling tanks up the PCH, knocking down your front door and taking these. They’re gonna take your suits, Tony, okay? They’re sick of the games. You said nobody else would possess this technology for 20 years. Well, guess what? Somebody else had it yesterday. It’s not theoretical anymore. Are you listening to me? Are you okay?_

_-_

_You had this in your body? And how about the high-tech crossword puzzle on your neck?_

_Road rash. Thank you…. What are you looking at?_

_I’m looking at you. You wanna do this whole lone gunslinger act and it’s unnecessary. You don’t have to do this alone._

_You know, I wish I could believe that. I really do. But you’ve gotta trust me. Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I’m doing._

Tony had tried to let him push, but Tony had pushed back hard enough and Rhodey hadn’t felt secure enough in them to dig.  Tony hadn’t known that the Senate had hurt Rhodey that deep. He’d tried to minimize the damage. Tony had known Rhodey long enough to know that Senator JerkFace had lied to him about what they were trying to do.  Rhodey would have been warning him if the Colonel had known what that meeting was truly about. He’d been roped into saying something he thought attacked a person Tony was certain Rhodey never wanted to attack.

_“Very well. ‘As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests.’ I did however, go on to summarise that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh three liabilities and that it would be in our interest…to fold Mr Stark...into the existing chain of command, Senator.”_

Tony knew his best friend.  But when he tried to tell Rhodey on his own that he was dying, he didn’t have any luck.  When he tried to give him a suit to keep, he messed that up too. That entire evening had been a disaster, but it had accomplished several things.  He had gotten amazingly drunk and thus thoroughly antagonized anyone who gave a crap about him. It had successfully given the press something to talk about for a few days so they could leave him the fuck alone.  And it had given Rhodey the suit, which had been the biggest goal after naming Pepper the CEO. It had done it the only way their tentatively recovering friendship could do it.

_I’m only gonna say this once. Get out.... You don’t deserve to wear one of these. Shut it down!_

_Now, put that thing back where you found it before someone gets hurt.  Sorry, pal, but Iron Man doesn’t have a sidekick._

_Sidekick this!  Had enough?_

_You want it? Take it!_

_Put your hand down._

_You think you got what it takes to wear that suit?_

_We don’t have to do this, Tony._

_You wanna be the War Machine, take your shot._

_Put it down!_

_You gonna take a shot?_

_Put it down!_

_No!_

_Drop it Tony!_

_Take it!_

It was depressingly like the time Rhodey had dragged Tony out of a college party that was turning into an orgy a few months before he shipped out.

-Flashback-

Tony laughed as another pitcher of beer was dumped on the 17 year old.  He was loving this! He was drunk, probably high, and having a great time.  He’d even have photographic evidence in the morning, since being able to remember might not be an option any more.

“Tony!  What the hell man?!?”  Tony turned. It was his Hunny-bear!  He smiled as he engulfed the soldier in a sloppy hug.  “Jeez, you stink, what the hell, did you swim in the stuff?”

“Yyyyyeeeesssss.  Itsm my hunny-bear!  Another for us!” Rhodey turned them so the badly tossed pitcher missed them both.  Tony whined at the spoilsport, but Rhodey ignored him.

“They missed!  Booooooooooooo!”  Rhodey shrugged him higher on his shoulder and started across the patio.

“You’ve had enough, we’re leaving.”  Tony frowned. Leaving didn’t involve the fun on the grass.  He wanted to join the fun on the grass.

“Nooo!  Comeon. The grass-ses is fun stuff!”  

Rhodey simply juggled him closer and Tony decided his Hunny-Bear was better than any old grass.  They continued their trek towards the street when two guys with pitchers stepped in front of them.  Tony wasn’t sure what they said, but they were talking about a good time and how Tony’s promised to show them something.  He wasn’t sure what, but Rhodey didn’t like it, so Tony didn’t like it. That was easy enough to remember.

“I said he ain’t leaving til we get a piece of him!”

“And I said, if you lay a finger on him, or me, again, I’ll break it off!”

Tony was giggling as Rhodey hauled him into the street, until a thought occurred to him, “Awwwww, they were good guys.  They had good stuff!”

“Get your ass in the car!”  Tony didn’t have time to protest as he was all but thrown into the ranger.  A ranger that moved. That was less ideal, but Rhodey was amazing for opening the window, so Tony decided to let it pass.

The drive sobered him some.  By the time they returned to his apartment building, he remembered why he was at that party.  He was there to get drunk, high and laid. He’d barely started the second one before Rhodey had showed up.  

“Tony!”  He slammed the door of the truck as he stalked up to his building.  Rhodey was storming after him, but he could fuck off already. In fact, he should tell him that!

“Screw you!”

“Dammit Tony, what the hell was that all about?  You’d cut back on the partying. You promised!”

“Fuck off!  That’s what you’re going to do anyway! Go be a good little soldier and blow shit up!  Get yourself blown up while your at it!”

“I ain’t going front line, you idiot!  And I ain’t going to Mars!”

“Little soldier wants to fight now?”

“You need to cool off!”

“Yessir, soldier sir.  Can I fuck off now sir?”Rhodey threw his hands up in the air.  They were both yelling as they circled the building. Finally Rhodey grabbed his shirt and shook him.

“I’m not just a fucking soldier, you prick!  I’m an engineer!”

“You think you can be an engineer!  You don’t have the brains!”

“And you don’t have to do this alone!”

“Shut up!”

“No!”

“I said leave it alone!”

“No!”

“I SAID SHUT UP!”

And they both went in the pool.

-End Flashback-

Tony remembered Rhodey dragging him out of the pool, totally waterlogged.  It was a good thing Rhodey was so strong, because they’d gone in the deep end and Tony had been high as a fucking kite and drunk as a dog at an oasis.  The water had finished what sobering up was left after the car ride.

Rhodey had just rolled them both onto the patio on their backs.  They lay there looking up at the stars. Tony could remember that conversation like it was yesterday.

_You know I won’t be gone long_

_Right_

_I’m serious!  Give me three years and I’ll be high enough in Research to interface with Stark Industries._

_Hmph!_

_But you know, you’d better be high enough in R &D so I don’t have to work with those idiots, right? _

_High enough?!?  You think I can’t run R &D? _

_You said it, not me._

_Bull, I’ll be CEO!  Then you’ll never get rid of me!_

_I never intend to Tones._

_Rhodey?_

_If I don’t take this posting, it could be years before I get high enough in Research to work with you.  This post hops over a bunch of those steps._

_That’s why you’re leaving now?_

_Yeah.  You’re my best friend, man.  I’m not leaving you to deal with SI’s nonsense by yourself.  Hell, you can barely navigate MIT!_

_Funny._

_You know it._

_Thanks Rhodey._

_Always, Tones._

Tony wished the birthday party had ended like that night.  But at the time, he’d been dying and he’d wanted Rhodey to go away.  He wanted Rhodey to not care. He’d forgotten in his anger that Rhodey would always care.  That was the problem right now. Rhodey had to watch helplessly as his own arm aimed at Tony.  As his own body chased Tony’s with the intent to kill him. They needed this time to recover from that.  Because Tony knew Rhodey, Rhodey would always care.

“Hey, Tony!  Are you going to actually eat, or just stare all day?”  Tony blinked and looked at Clint as the archer swung an arm around his neck.

“I thought I might simply enjoy the show.”  Tony snarked back at the archer.

“Nah, won’t let you do that.  Besides, we’re watching Lilo and Stitch tonight.”  

Tony arched a brow.  Usually they only watched Disney movies when Steve or Thor found out about one, possibly with Tony’s nudging.  He loved Disney, but no way was he telling anyone this.

Clint shrugged, “Col Rhodes made me swear we’d watch it tonight so that when he comes this weekend you can both figure out Dr. Jumba Jookiba’s inventions.  Something about flying cars?”

Tony blinked at him.  “What?”

At the table Steve spoke up, “Yeah, Col Rhodes said he’d be joining us for most of next week, but he couldn’t get today or tomorrow off so he wanted our help.  Something about traditions?”

The entire table had a luau theme and Tony abruptly remembered the party he’d thrown Rhodey as a send off.  Mrs. Rhodes had made the meat for that one. Bruce had even cut the pineapple into a flower spiral. Natasha was explaining manwich to Thor in the kitchen but Bruce was smiling at Tony.

Tony had to smile.  He didn’t have to worry about his friendship with Rhodey.  Even when he wasn’t here Rhodey found a way to do it. Rhodey gave him this.

This was a hug


End file.
